Neither side came into this match in a particularly upbeat mood.
Jürgen Klopp made three changes to the team that drew with Brighton, with Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nuñez replacing Fabinho, Fabio Carvalho and Roberto Firmino. This saw Liverpool switch to a 4-2-4 formation, ditching their usual 4-3-3 for the first time since January 2021.
Rangers came into the game with zero points in the group and trailing Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. Giovanni van Bronckhorst made four changes to the eleven that beat Hearts, as Ryan Jack, Rabbi Matondo, Scott Arfield and Antonio-Mirko Colak made way for Leon King, Steven Davis, Malik Tillman and Alfredo Morelos. They swapped to a 3-4-3 shape.
Rangers spent most of the game dropping back into a 5-4-1 shape to defend, however this didn’t make them difficult to play through. Ryan Kent and Tillman would come inside into narrow positions, helping to block up the centre, but they wouldn’t make much of an effort to push out to the flanks and block the pass down the line when Liverpool passed wide. This meant Liverpool could simply progress the ball down the flanks with no real resistance, bypassing the Rangers midfield completely to get straight into attack.
Rangers also gave Thiago Alcântara and Jordan Henderson free rein in midfield. John Lundstram and Davis would hold back as if to protect the area in front of their defence rather than pushing forward onto their opposite numbers, while Kent and Tillman would narrow but not come all the way inside into the centre. This left only Morelos to deal with the pairing, and even he would give up once Liverpool pushed far enough forward. As a result Thiago and Henderson were given the time and space to pick out passes into attack as they wished.
Liverpool’s shape was generally noted as a 4-2-3-1, but while Jota would often drop off between the lines, he would also frequently lead the line too, with Nuñez dropping off instead. Typically in a 4-2-3-1, the wingers would track back next to the centre midfielders, but, although Mohamed Salah did often work hard to get back and help out, Liverpool’s wingers generally stayed high up the pitch.
Given the Reds have had problems controlling the midfield with three men, this new formation removing yet another does raise questions over its long term viability. There was no such problem in this match though, as Rangers would typically hoof the ball long to the forwards rather than try to work the ball out. A stretched midfield requiring Liverpool defenders to step out to cover would create holes to exploit in the backline, but Rangers created no such issues for Liverpool, passing over the midfield to go straight to the well-prepared backline.
The midfield two actually made for a more solid Liverpool defence. Typically the outside central midfielders will get pulled forward to defend higher up-field, while the man at the base of the midfield can’t move wide to cover without leaving the centre unprotected. In a two, although they stepped out to press, generally Henderson and Thiago were more conservative than usual, holding their position in front of defence more than when they have Fabinho covering behind them, while having the other to hold the fort in the centre allowed each to move wide and cover behind the full-backs when needed. Given how badly the terrible form of Trent Alexander-Arnold has affected Liverpool this season, more protection for him can only be a positive.
Liverpool also started the game demanding less forward thrust from Alexander-Arnold, allowing him to remain in his defensive position. Kostas Tsimikas would push forward to join the attack down the left, but Alexander-Arnold would remain in line with the centre-backs, with Virgil van Dijk pulling wider to the left. Henderson was also willing to drop into the backline on occasion to pick up the ball – a move that used to be seen in most matches but is a rarity these days. These makeshift back threes spreading the backline out across the pitch made it even easier for Liverpool to find a passing angle to progress the ball down the flanks, which was already simple enough due to Rangers’ poor defending. As it became clear Rangers were posing little threat though, Alexander-Arnold began to venture forward more.
The Scouser was the man to open the scoring with a free-kick early on.
Liverpool then doubled their lead soon after half-time through a penalty. With Diaz remaining forward rather than tracking back as Rangers attacked, when Liverpool reclaimed the ball he was in a position to threaten their backline. Henderson found the Colombian with a long pass forward and he tricked his way past King, causing the defender and Lundstram to scramble back in an attempt to stop him, only to drag him to the ground and give Salah the opportunity to put the Reds two up.
Rangers tried to press Liverpool higher, but they had left it too late: they had already handed the home side full control and a comfortable lead. With four attackers up the pitch willing to drop off into the space behind Rangers’ midfielders as they pushed up, Liverpool had little problem playing through the Rangers press.
After finally switching up their strategy, Liverpool put in a strong performance, however Rangers were so poor it’s difficult to take too much from it going forward.
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